1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a window treatments in the form of curtain valances known as “toppers” and more particularly to extenders designed to convert a standard curtain rod for use with a topper in the form of an awning.
2. Description of Prior Art
Awnings designed for exterior use are well known in the art. They generally take the form of a flexible or rigid roof-like cover mounted at an incline and extending over or in front of a deck, door or window to provide shade from the sun and shelter from the elements.
Curtains designed for indoor use as a window drapery are also well known. One type of curtain that is commonly used is known as a valance or “topper” because it is designed to fit over the top of a window using a standard curtain support rod. The topper is usually made of fabric and hangs vertically from the support rod in a plane generally parallel to the inside of the window.
The standard curtain support rod used to mount toppers consists of two generally “L” shaped parts. The parts are fabricated such that the long portion of one part is slideably received into the long portion of the other part to form the main section of the rod. That structure permits the effective length of the rod to be easily adjusted. The short portions of the rod parts form generally parallel side sections. The side sections of the rod are hollow and have open ends designed to receive and engage mounting brackets fixed to the surface (wall or window frame) surrounding the window, so as to support the rod and hence the curtain.
The present invention relates to a decorative curtain topper designed for indoor use that has the appearance of an awning in that it is mounted at an incline relative to the window, instead of parallel to the window as is the case with standard toppers. In order to mount the awning topper at an incline relative to the window, two support rods are required. One rod is required to support the upper portion of the topper at a position relatively close to the window. A second rod is required to support the lower portion of the topper at a position spaced from the window. Supporting the lower portion at a position spaced further away from the window than the upper portion provides the inclined appearance of an awning.
The awning topper is provided with a channel proximate the top edge adapted to receive the upper support rod. A second channel is provided proximate the bottom of the topper and is adapted to receive the lower support rod.
A standard curtain rod functions acceptably as the upper support rod for the awning topper. However, a standard curtain rod cannot be used as the lower support rod for the awning topper because the sides are too short to provide the inclined appearance characteristic of an awning.
It is of course possible to manufacture a curtain rod with longer sides especially for use as the lower support rod for the awning topper. However, fabricating, inventorying and selling specially constructed curtain rods for this purpose is costly.
Accordingly, it is a prime object of the present invention to provide extenders for increasing the effective length of mounting to the sides of standard curtain rod to convert same for use as a lower support rod for an awning topper.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an awning topper rod extender that is inexpensive to manufacture and simple to use with a standard curtain rod.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an awning topper rod extender with a tapered end to facilitate insertion to the side section of a standard curtain rod.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an awning topper rod extender with means for releaseably engaging the side section of a standard curtain rod.